Detox your home this Diwali

Diwali is just a week away. And, I am damn excited about it :) It is my favorite festival in whole of the year. And, it is a age old custom to clean our homes inside out before Diwali. I have seen that this custom has lost its importance over time due to our busy lifestyle and hectic schedules. But, there is more to this custom than just being a tradition. You can call this 'Detox your home' to make a more specific effect on people. In a sense it is what we do, removing all the junk piled up in the house over the course of year, taking the house inside out, buying new things for the house to welcome the new year. So, what all can be done while doing the detox of the house: 

• Start with the entrance of the house. Do you wash your door mats regularly? They becomes so dirty due to constant usage and dirt being accumulated. They are potential source of infections in the house so it is advisable to either wash it regularly with an antiseptic solution using a vacuum cleaner or you can even replace it with a new one every year. 
• Do you place door mats in front of your bathrooms? I know most of the people do but do not know how regular they are in washing it. So, same goes for washing these bathroom mats.
• Now, lets go for bathrooms first. We do wash bathrooms really regularly. But, do you remember to wash the walls of the bathrooms, the shower head, the taps, soap holders and other cabinets in the bathroom. Do not forget it this time. Oh, by the way, do wash the shower curtains too if you have one. Of course, toilet rims are most prominent places to wash but do you wash inside the commodes? Then, again the buckets and mugs and other things we use. 
• Lets move to the bathing accessories. The flannels, loofahs, scrubbers, dry brushes, combs, hair brushes, makeup brushes and any other accessory which you use should be washed regularly and kept in sunlight for some time every week. Even 15 minutes is enough. That kills the bacteria in them. And, dry them every day before storing. 
• Do not forget to dry the tooth brush with hair drier or in sunlight before storing it to prevent molds and bacteria growing in it.
• By the way, do you open the windows in your bathroom if you have any? Do open them at least once a week for a complete day to allow fresh air circulation. It also allows sunlight to come into your bathrooms.
• Now, let us go to laundry. You wash clothes then put them in the drier. Today's automatic washing machines give you fully dried clothes which you can simply put on and go. But, drying them in shade once a while or even in sunlight for 15-290 minutes helps them smell fresh and last longer.
• Same goes for bed sheets. Change the bedding every week. And, if you suffer from acne and other breakouts, change bedding in 3 days at max making sure to use clean pillows almost everyday. 
• Do you launder your carpet? Do not forget to expose it to sunlight for a day this Diwali for a clean floor. Removing the carpet also helps the cleanign of the floor properly and removing the dirt in the carpet.
• Same goes with the mattress. You can not launder your mattresses so keep them in sunlight for a day or two at least twice a year or once in three months.
• Lets move to curtains. Curtains are ones which go completely beyond attention unless one day you are trying to remove it and find a plethora of dust settled on it. Change the curtains once in three months. That brings freshness to your rooms also in matters of look. You can use dark colored curtains or double curtains for bedrooms and light curtains for drawing room. 
• Now, cupboards are one places which are dark and become smelly quite easily. So, take out all the material from the cupboard, clean it nicely once in three months or every season change. Use a disinfectant with water while cleaning. After cleaning, leave the cupboards open to let lot of air inside. Then, after half a day, you can replace all the things inside the cupboard again. This way you can get the unnecessary junk out of the house regularly too. And, do not forget to donate the things which you do not need. 
• Place moth balls inside your cupboard every month. Always try to keep the cupboards in an orderly way but I know it is very difficult because I face the same problem. The more I try to be methodical, the more messy the place becomes.
• When you remove the things from your cupboards whether it is clothes, suitcases, blankets, simple accessories, keep them in sunlight too for a day. This is again a nice way to freshen up things.
• Before winters, always keep your winter clothes in sunlight for a week to freshen them up. This also includes the blankets and your jackets and other stuff too. 
• Open all the doors and windows in the morning to allow maximum natural light inside. Do this daily to reduce the usage of artificial light and hence, electricity. 
• Avoid using air fresheners as they have chemicals which are not good for you. Instead, keep your houses clean by using dried neem (margosa) leaves or homemade potpourri from rose petals and jasmine flowers. Also, keep lots of plants outside the house. Plants purify the air. If you can keep some inside, you should do that too.
• There is a tradition of using mango tree leaves int he houses before any festival. The reason for this is because mango tree leaves are considered auspicious and control the evil elements for one and the second is because they are anti-bacterial and prevent the insects from entering the houses. 
• Use soap nuts or baking soda to clean your homes instead of any chemical detergents. You would be surprised by the results!!

Thus, detoxing your home is as good an idea as detoxing your body. Obviously, it is the basic hygiene which should be observed. A weekend is a perfect time to do this. So, happy detoxing and do share with me your own tips for cleaning out your houses.